Northmoor Academy: Our News items

We are very much looking forward to welcoming the children back in September. To help with social distancing, the children's return to school will be staggered over several days:

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, parents must leave their children at the main school gate on Alderson St at the start of the school day.

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club will no longer be in the school hall but in your child's classroom from 8:30am. Sadly, this means parents can no longer attend breakfast club with their child/ren.

End of Day Arrangements

There will be a one-way system through the school grounds for parents/carers to pick up their children. Staff will be on hand to help direct parents/carers. Please arrive at the main gate on Alderson Street at home time.

Thursday Afternoon Closure

To maintain the "bubble system" during the Covid-19 pandemic, school will be closed from 1:30pm every Thursday from 10th September to allow preparation and planning time.

If you have any queries, please contact school on the following email: info@northmoor.theharmonytrust.org

Trust Letter to Parents 14th July 2020

Date: 14th Jul 2020 @ 10:02am

Trust Letter to Parents 14th July 2020

Trust Letter to Parents 18th June 2020

Date: 18th Jun 2020 @ 3:36pm

Trust Letter to Parents 18th June 2020

UPDATE : Friday 12th June 2020 further information regarding phased return for Year 6

Date: 12th Jun 2020 @ 4:23pm

Please read further update.

Update: Friday 12th June 2020

IMPORTANT NOTICE : SATURDAY 6TH JUNE - UPDATE ON PHASED RETURN

Date: 6th Jun 2020 @ 9:40am

Please read latest update from the Trust.

Update : Saturday 6th June 2020

Trust Letter to Parents 5th June 2020

Date: 5th Jun 2020 @ 1:44pm

Trust Letter to Parents 5th June 2020

Further Update from CEO regarding widening opening of Academies.

Date: 29th May 2020 @ 3:55pm

Parents/Carers - please read latest update.

Further Update : Friday 29th May 2020

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Next phase of re-opening school

Date: 22nd May 2020 @ 4:08pm

Friday 22^nd May 2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

Following on from the letter recently posted on our website, I would like to give you more information about our next phase of re-opening based on our risk assessments and planning. We are doing our best to continue to keep you as up to date as we can in these challenging times.

Subject to Government confirmation, we plan to reopen Northmoor Academy from Wednesday 3^rd June to some pupils. We will do this in phases and will be in touch to discuss this with you.

Safety is our number one priority and in making our decisions we have considered the numbers of children we can safely have in a group, the number of staff in school and the space we have available. We have also considered how we can encourage social distancing and make sure our groups of children do not mix beyond their “bubble”.

Phasing of our offer:

We have taken the decision to place a particular priority on children who are Y6 because they will need support to prepare for secondary school. Therefore we will be opening to the following groups:

Monday 1^st and Tuesday 2^nd June – open for staff induction and to ensure our extensive safety procedures are in place and ready for re-opening to children.

Wednesday 3^rd June – we will welcome children of key workers and those in the other groups who have been eligible for a place since the lockdown began.

Monday 8^th June – we continue to welcome the above groups but will also be welcoming any Year 6 pupils who have indicated they wish to join us. During this week we will be reviewing numbers and procedures and during this time will make the decision whether we are able to safely increase the offer to other year groups.

Monday 15^th June (and beyond)– we hope to increase to an additional year group, or more – this will be Year 1 in the first instance if we are able to but we will contact you further once we have a clearer picture.

Safety measures being implemented

We are in the process of finalising our comprehensive risk assessments, which we will share with you prior to opening. The key procedures we are putting in place are:

We continue to request that no child or adult showing symptoms comes into school for at least 7 days after developing symptoms
- - A persistent cough
  - A high temperature
  - A loss of taste or smell
A bubble system – 2 staff will be with no more than 10 children in a bubble. They will be in their own space and will not mix with other bubbles.
Key worker and other groups may be in mixed age bubbles. Once other year groups remain, they will be in year group bubbles.
Due to the need for space, some children will not be in their own classroom or with their own teacher. We are doing our best to make sure the adult your child is with is one they know.
We will try to encourage social distancing as much as we can. Please be aware that although we will encourage this, we cannot guarantee children will keep apart. The bubble system is in place to limit contact beyond a very small group.
Every child will have their own space to work at with their own pencils etc.
We will have strict hygiene controls: very regular handwashing, regular cleaning throughout the day, hand gel available, a ready supply of soap and tissues.
Access to corridors, entrances and exits, toilets and other shared areas will be arranged so bubbles do not mix and enhanced cleaning is in place.
Breaks and lunchtimes will be staggered so children can use the outside area without mixing with other bubbles.
The start and end of day will be staggered so there are fewer children coming into school at the same time.
We will encourage only 1 parent to bring and collect their child
There will be very few visitors on site. If parents wish to see a member of staff, they will be asked to make an appointment and strict social distancing will occur
Children coming in should only bring water bottles lunchboxes (if relevant) and a coat (if needed). Book bags are not needed.
Uniform is expected but we will understand if your child has grown out of something. We would ask that clean clothes are worn each day and shoes are cleaned.
We will keep monitoring and reviewing our systems to make sure they are as safe as possible.

We are doing everything we can to keep everyone as safe as possible. We cannot eliminate the risk of the virus but we will put procedures in place which should help to prevent an infection from being transmitted in school. This plan is subject to change in light of Government advice and safety consultations with Unions and our other partners.

If your child is due to come in the first week, we will be in contact in the week beginning 1^st June to provide more information. For other year groups, we will keep you updated on our plans as soon as we can.

Once again we thank you for your continued patience whilst we put these plans in place and we hope you understand our caution in adopting this phased approach.

Yours sincerely

Executive Principal

NorthmoorAcademy

IMPORTANT NOTICE : 22nd May 2020 Wider Potential Opening of Harmony Academies

Date: 22nd May 2020 @ 3:19pm

Dear Parents/Carers, please read the latest updates from The Trust.

Message to Parents 22nd May 2020

Harmony Trust Position Regarding Wider Opening of Academies

Date: 21st May 2020 @ 3:00pm

Dear Parents and Carers,

As you will be aware the Prime Minister has asked all schools to begin to consider how they can safely achieve wider opening of schools from 1.6.20, if at that time the government feel it is safe to do so. Currently all school leaders are working closely with the health and safety experts within the Trust to carefully consider the guidance we have been given by the Department of Education, to identify what steps we need to take to minimise the risk to pupils, parents and staff to achieve this. Please be assured your child’s safety and that of our staff is of paramount importance to us and we are working through a wide range of measures to reduce every risk.

Thank you to those parents who have already completed our questionnaire regarding your view on sending your child back to school when it opens more widely. If you have not already done so we would be grateful if you could complete this, as it is assisting with our planning. We will be writing to you again tomorrow with more information on the trust position and the plans from each academy.

Letter to parents/carers - COVID19 - Planning for re-opening to more children

Date: 15th May 2020 @ 10:01am

Parents/carers please ensure you read this letter from the Trust regarding re-opening to more children.

Letter to parents/carers - COVID19 - Planning for re-opening to more children

Letter to Parents 12th May 2020

Date: 14th May 2020 @ 2:58pm

Please click the link below to see a letter sent to parents on 12^th May 2020.

Parent letter 12th May

Letter to Parents 11th May 2020

Date: 14th May 2020 @ 2:56pm

Please click the link below to see a letter sent to parents on 11^th May 2020

letter to parents 11th May.pdf

Reception Admissions - September 2020

Date: 14th May 2020 @ 2:54pm

If you have applied for a place for your child to start in Reception in September 2020, you will have been notified by the Local Authority of your child's allocation to a Harmony Trust Academy.

Due to the current circumstances, in relation to Coronavirus, our schools are currently not operating in the traditional manner. However, we want to assure you that we will be in touch later in the Summer term, to ensure your child is registered, and you are fully informed of the next steps in your child's educational journey.

We look forward to welcoming you, and your child, into our school later this year.

If you have any specific questions in the meantime, please complete the contact form on the academy website, and we will respond to your query as soon as possible.

Covid-19 - National Free School Meal (FSM) Voucher Scheme (update 14th April 2020)

Date: 14th May 2020 @ 2:54pm

Please be assured we are doing all we can to get the DfE FSM vouchers issued to all eligible families. The system providers Edenred and the DfE have advised that the system is struggling with demand and that they are working on the capacity issues and once resolved you should receive your vouchers by email. You will receive one per week (excluding future holidays) starting last week (week ending 10 Apr 2020) until children return to school these last for 1 month from the date of issue. Please also note that vouchers will only be issued to pupils who are entitled to Free School Meals, not pupils who receive Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM).

PPN_02_20 Supplier Relief due to Covid 19

Date: 14th May 2020 @ 2:53pm

During these unprecedented and challenging times Central Government have issued a guidance document to all public bodies concerning supplier relief (support):

Click here for the guidance document

The Harmony Trust are keen to work with their suppliers through this government initiative and assist in keeping the economy running wherever possible. If you feel that you meet the criteria for supplier relief as detailed in the guidance then please complete the questionnaire linked below so that we can make an informed decision about any future support.

Click here for the questionnaire

Please return the completed questionnaire to: accountspayable@theharmonytrust.org

Suppliers invoicing for goods / services which continue to be provided as normal during the disruption will continue to be paid upon receipt of invoice. As most of our schools are currently closed please email rather than post your invoices to us.

Data Sharing Notification: 1st April 2020

Date: 14th May 2020 @ 2:53pm

In line with our published policy, we hereby notify parents / guardians of the following addition / change / amendment to our data (privacy) statement:

The addition of:

Aspect

Nature of Material

Where It Appears

Why We Have It

Who It Can Be Accessed By

Disposal

Contact Details for the Provision of National Meal Vouchers for Children In Receipt of Free School Meals

Pupil Names

FSM Status

E-mail Addresses

Provided To Edenred – Company Appointed By DfE To provide Vouchers During Corona Virus Pandemic

Currently Provided To Us As part of the Parent Pay Registration OR School Admission Data

Only By Edenred / DfE

Will Be Disposed Of In Accordance With UK Govt Directives (TBC)

Pupils with Education, Health and Care plans currently at home

Date: 14th May 2020 @ 2:52pm

Advice for pupils with Education, Health and Care plans currently at home

If your child has an education, health and care plan, Local authorities will be doing their best to meet needs in the complex situation.

If you are able to meet your children’s needs at home, this is the safest place for them. If you are worried that you cannot meet your child’s needs, please speak to the Local authority SEN team and school so we can try to help as much as we can.

A member of staff from our academy will be contacting you regularly to check you are okay.

Oldham Local Authority EHCP team Contact:

T: 0161 770 4269

E: ehcinfo@oldham.gov.uk

Please also see the guidance from the educational psychology team – Click Here

Information about Oldham’s Local Offer – Click Here

Covid-19 - National Free School Meal (FSM) Voucher Scheme - do we have your email address?

Date: 14th May 2020 @ 2:52pm

Covid-19 - National Free School Meal (FSM) Voucher Scheme - do we have your email address?

As you may have seen in the media the government have now rolled out the national free school meal voucher scheme which will now be used to issue weekly vouchers(excluding school holidays) to families eligible for FSM.

We will start to access the scheme from Monday 20th April, following the Easter Break. You will receive an email with an e-Code and instructions on how to download a voucher for your chosen supermarket.

The vouchers will equate to £15- per eligible child per week and we hope to process the first ones on or before Monday 20th and Monday 27th April and on a weekly basis thereafter until your child returns to school.

In order to make sure you can access your voucher please make sure we have the correct and latest email address, if you are unsure please email info@northmoor.theharmonytrust.org giving the name of your child and your preferred email address and we can then make sure that you receive the activation email for your vouchers.

The government have decided that there is no requirement to continue to provide universal infant free school meals to pupils in reception, year 1, or year 2 who are unable to attend school. Only children in those year groups who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals will be supported.

Please note there have been reports of families, not ours, receiving scam emails and text messages from fraudsters asking for banking details in order to provide access to FSM vouchers, we will never ask for your bank details in order to supply the vouchers if you receive such requests please delete them as they will be fraudulent.

Covid 19 - Free School Meals

Date: 14th May 2020 @ 2:51pm

Information for free school meals for children

Please note, whilst the government identifies a national solution, all pupils eligible for Free School Meals will be allocated a voucher for £4 per day. These will either be received by email or text message and can be redeemed in a number of supermarkets or online. If your child/children are eligible, please keep a close eye on text message/email platforms for the vouchers. You will receive vouchers to cover until Friday 3rd April 2020 in the first instance. Please be advised there may be a delay in the supermarkets issuing the vouchers due to unprecedented levels of demand. We are doing all we can to resolve this and we appreciate your patience.

If you do not receive your vouchers over the coming days please email info@northmoor.theharmonytrust.org